After a tumultuous offseason, the Rams’ starting linebackers appear to be set

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Rams linebacker Samson Ebukam participates in drills during Wednesday’s practice at the team’s practice facility in Thousand Oaks. A fourth-round draft pick out of Eastern Washington last season, Ebukam might have the highest ceiling among the Rams’ linebackers. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker)

Los Angeles Rams’ defensive back Marcus Peters takes off his helmet during practice Tuesday, June 13, 2018, at the team’s practice facility in Thousand Oaks. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker)

Rams linebacker Samson Ebukam participates in drills during Wednesday’s practice at the team’s practice facility in Thousand Oaks. A fourth-round draft pick out of Eastern Washington last season, Ebukam might have the highest ceiling among the Rams’ linebackers. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker)

Los Angeles Rams’ linebacker Cory Littleton comes off the field after practice Tuesday, June 13, 2018, at the team’s practice facility in Thousand Oaks. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker)

THOUSAND OAKS — It hasn’t been evident on the field during the offseason program, but the Rams seem to have settled on their group of four starting linebackers, three of whom will be new.

That’s a scary proposition. The Rams will turn to, in no particular order, a converted safety, two former undrafted free agents and a second-year guy who primarily played special teams in 2017.

“We have a lot of strengths,” defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said after Wednesday’s practice at Cal Lutheran. “We just need some guys to come through, and it looks like they have that ability.”

The Rams concluded their offseason program Wednesday, and for the first time, Phillips publicly pieced together the group of starting linebackers in his 3-4 defense. Look for Mark Barron and Cory Littleton to play inside, with Samson Ebukam and Matt Longacre outside.

That’s a big change from seven months ago, when the Rams ended 2017 with Barron and Alec Ogletree inside, flanked by Robert Quinn and Connor Barwin outside. During a dizzying month-long series of moves, the Rams traded Ogletree and Quinn and allowed Barwin to leave via free agency.

So, it’s time to turn to the kids, but nobody knows exactly how they will look together.

Littleton, 24, and Ebukam, 23, were two of the standouts of the Rams’ OTAs practices, but neither Barron nor Longacre participated in full-team work because of injury precaution. Longacre underwent back surgery last December and Barron struggled late last season with injuries, particularly to his knee.

Chemistry could be an issue in training camp, when presumably the quartet will debut together. There is, as Phillips indicated, plenty of ability and potential, but little track record.

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Barron, 28, is the only known quantity and has been a full-time starter with the Rams since 2015, but he has had difficulty staying on the field because of injuries. Longacre, an undrafted free agent in 2015, had 5.5 sacks in a backup role last season. Littleton, an undrafted free agent in 2016, was a special-teams star in 2017 but now will be asked to replace Ogletree as the middle linebacker and signal-caller.

Then there’s Ebukam, who might have the highest ceiling. A fourth-round draft pick out of Eastern Washington last season, Ebukam also played well on special teams as a rookie and played increasingly well as a fill-in for Barwin at outside linebacker.

Phillips and Coach Sean McVay had strong praise for Ebukam throughout the offseason program, and Phillips said Wednesday that Ebukam definitely would capture one of the starting spots.

“They’ve told me all that good stuff,” Ebukam said, “but I don’t really pay attention to it. I’m just here to earn my spot. It’s another year, and I’ve got to earn it just like everybody else.”

Linebacker is the only position on the Rams’ defense in any type of flux, though.

Once star defensive lineman Aaron Donald returns from his contract holdout, he will settle nicely alongside Ndamukong Suh and Michael Brockers. The secondary is set, with cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters, safeties Lamarcus Joyner and John Johnson and nickel back Nickell Robey-Coleman.

It all seems to be coming together. Some league pundits shuddered during the offseason when the Rams traded for Talib and Peters, then signed Suh. None of them is exactly a wallflower, and concern was raised about whether the strong personalities would clash in the Rams’ locker room.

McVay expressed confidence that Phillips, who has more than 40 years of coaching experience, would be able to handle things, and indeed, Phillips seems under control. This week, Talib and Peters praised Phillips’ leadership style and Suh referred to him as a “fun-loving grandfather.”

Phillips, known for a wry sense of humor and a low-key demeanor, chuckled softly when asked about dealing with players who aren’t shy about speaking their minds.

“As far as strong personalities,” Phillips said. “I explain what I want and how I want it done and why we want it done that way, and they understand those things. I like personalities, because they’re independent enough to do things on their own, and they’re independent enough to be great players too. You don’t want a player who does everything you say, you know? I mean, you want guys who have some initiative.”

NOT CONCERNED

As expected, Donald missed the second and final day of the Rams’ mandatory minicamp, and now faces a potential fine of more than $84,000.

The more important question is whether Donald will show up for the start of training camp next month. Donald, who is in the final year of his contract, wants a new one, but more than a year of on-and-off negotiations have not resulted in a deal.

“It’s something you can’t do anything about. I don’t stay up all night, every night,” Phillips said. “Knowing our people, we’ll get it done.”

Then there’s Todd Gurley. The Rams are expected to make Donald the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player, but then Gurley, last year’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year, will be looking for a new deal.

In April, the Rams picked up the fifth-year option on Gurley’s rookie contract, so he wouldn’t be a free agent until after the 2019 season, but Gurley could sign a new contract at any time.

“I play football and let the rest take care of itself,” Gurley said. “There’s no reason to worry about 2019 if it’s not here. You just worry about what is in front of you.”

INJURY REPORT

McVay said the Rams made it through the offseason program without a significant injury beyond the torn ACL suffered by linebacker Morgan Fox last month. A number of other players who were held out of the offseason program should return for the start of training camp in late July.

That includes kicker Greg Zuerlein, who underwent back surgery in December. Backup kicker Sam Ficken handled field-goal duties during offseason practices, but Fassel said that Zuerlein likely would be able to kick in a game now, if needed.

“We’ve kept his volume and his intensity really low, just to be extra cautious,” Fassel said. “A week after his surgery, he was in the training room, and he has lived in there ever since that day. When training camp starts, I’d imagine he will be at full speed.”

Rich Hammond was a high school senior when the Rams left town in 1995, and now he's their beat writer for the Southern California News Group. A native of L.A., Rich broke in at the Daily Breeze as a college freshman and also has covered USC, the Kings, the Lakers and the Dodgers. He still loves sports and telling stories. Don't take the sarcastic tweets too seriously.